June 29, 2011

Year two of the La Vérité project from Pete Johnson (Owner of Tatuaje Cigars) has finally arrived in the shops. The La Vérité is a special project from Tatuaje because it is using the concept of a single farm growing all of the tobacco used in the cigar.

A Quote from the New Havana Cigars website explaining this concept more:"The LaVérité project is a very unique undertaking by Pete Johnson that began in 2008. Using only tobacco from Pepin's La Estrella farm, from a single crop year, both LaVérité and L'Esprit deVérité were created, making these small batch vitolas something very special. Much like a single vineyard wine, these cigars showcase the seed varietal and soil where they were grown.

The 2009 crop at La Estrella consisted of Habano Criollo, Criollo 98 and Pelo de Oro. For the 2009 La Vérité and L'Esprit de Vérité vitolas, all three seed varietals were used, but in different ratios for each of the vitolas."

I'm not sure how many shops are receiving these cigars this week, but I have seen a few of the bigger places advertise them, so they shouldn't be to hard to track down if you're looking. I got mine from New Havana Cigars. That shop is 99% sold out due to pre-sales, so please don't flood his phone with calls.

I thought last year's version of the La Vérité was a solid cigar that lacked in complexity. (It was all the same tobacco, so I guess that is to be expected.) My hopes for this year were that it is just as nice a smoke, but with more wow factor in the flavors.

OK last year I started out my review of this line with how I really didn't like the band design. Being a graphic designer by trade, I look at this detail of a cigar more than some other people may. A year later, I still am not a huge fan of the main band on this cigar. With that said, this year's version, with the addition of a secondary band in the familiar Tatuaje script, adds more visual excitement and the addition was a good move in my opinion. On to what's more important, the cigar itself. The wrapper on my La Vérité 2009 was a milk chocolate brown color with some pretty large veins. Even with the veins, the cigar felt smooth to the touch and well constructed. The pre-lit aroma was a mixture of aged tobacco, sweetness and a hint of nuttiness. The cold draw was just as interesting, with the flavors of sweet tobacco and what I described to my smoking partner as a berry-like taste. This is not something I pick up often, so it was pretty surprising to me.
First Third

My La Vérité 2009 lit easily and the flavors came exploding out. The first puff greeted me with a warm, spicy, black pepper flavor that coated my palate for a few seconds and then gave way to a woody, oak-like taste. The black pepper was spicy, but not overpowering and definitely not tongue-burning spicy. The finish on the cigar was very clean and kept my taste buds from feeling overloaded. About an inch into my cigar some of the changes in the flavor profile started to show up; I started to pick up some raw honey sweetness. This flavor was especially noticeable on the front profile of each puff and was delicious. The burn was nice and sharp, the draw excellent. I would put the strength level at this point in the medium range.

Second Third

If the first third of this cigar was good, then second third kept right on par with that and raised the level even higher. The flavors kept pouring out with woody, oak tastes, mixed with the delicious raw honey from the first third that had now really ramped up to be a dominate player in the flavor profile. I say dominate, but it really was balanced nicely with the spicy black pepper that was now milder, but still made for a flavorful finish to each draw. Something else interesting to note was during this portion of the cigar, the resting smoke took on some citrus smells. I compared it to the rind of a lemon. Sounds kind of crazy, but I swear it was there. Just like the first third (and most Pepin made cigars), the construction was top notch never required a re-light or touch up.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my La Vérité 2009 threw in another flavor at the start that was like a welcomed old friend coming to the party. Mixing with the three main flavors from before, I began to taste some of the traditional graham cracker flavor that I associate with Tatuaje brown label cigars. This is one of my favorite flavors in cigars, and when it mixes with black pepper on the finish (like this cigar was producing), it puts me in a very happy place. As the final third burned on, the graham picked up even more and really took over as the forefront flavor, knocking back the honey and oak to more of an after-thought. The flavor this cigar leaves on your lips is also something I wanted to put in this review because it's what I can only describe as well aged tobacco. This tobacco has been aging for a few years and I think it shows -- especially with the flavor of the wrapper. The strength in the final third, and especially as I was getting dow to the nub, increased more into the full range. Not dizzy heady full, but enough to feel it.

Final thoughts on the Tatuaje La Vérité 2009? This is an amazing cigar. This is what an expensive cigar should taste like. The amount of complexity in the flavor profile and the overall smoking experience with this stick is nothing but a absolute joy for any cigar smoker. The fact that this complexity all comes from tobacco grown on the same farm makes me rethink the whole grabbing tobacco from different areas to make a blend. In this case, it's certainly not about where the tobacco comes from, but what tobacco type is grown, and how it's blended together. I would put this in the top five releases from Tatuaje of all time, and I have smoked a lot of them. Yes I am a fan of this brand, and I might come off sounding like a homer in this review, but I would really like to hear from anyone who disagrees with me on this because I can't see how that is possible.

June 24, 2011

Today's review is the first review of a bunch of new sticks, all being released at the same time by Viaje. If you like reading about Viaje, you're going to like this website for the next few weeks. Anyway, the cigar for today is the 2011 release of the Summerfest line. I couldn't find much information on this release online (as with all the other new releases), aside from it, once again, being a very small batch release. I sent a message to Andre asking for some more details:

Quote Andre Farkas:"Last year the brushed foot on Summerfest was very difficult to smoke due to its length. This year the cigar has been designed to smoke. It gives you the ability to taste the filler alone before getting into the binder and wrapper. Again, unlike Holiday Blends unfinished foot representing the cold of Winter, the brush represents shedding clothing for Summer."

I smoked a couple of these last year and remember thinking the open brushed foot was a little overkill. This stick looks a little more like Andre said -- designed to smoke. On to the review.

The first thing I noticed when examining the 2011 Summerfest was the brushed foot is a much tighter, bunched filler than last year's release. Last year, the cigar really looked like it had a paint bush on the end, but not so much this year. The wrapper was a dark brown color with some darker black streaks like you would find in spalted wood. Not the prettiest wrapper, but isn't really about the looks right? The aroma of the unlit cigar was very musty and at first and smelled kind of sweaty. After holding it out of the newly opened box for a few minutes that smell faded fast and gave way to a earthy natural tobacco scent. The cold draw was free and tasted mostly of natural tobacco with just a hint of raw honey.

First Third

I lit the unwrapped, covered part of my Summerfest and was greeted right away with a nice blast of white pepper. The front of the flavor profile was nice and spicy with the finish adding another element of a cooling mint-like note. I was very happy with what was going on with this kind-of-funny-to-smoke brushed foot. The cigar gave off a great volume of smoke both while resting and, more surprisingly, while being puffed on. I hit the wrapper part of the cigar about ten minutes into smoking and the flavor profile completely changed. A strong woody flavor came through and dominated the cigar both on the front and the finish. No longer was I getting any of the mint taste, which I really missed. The body was in the medium to full range, but not anywhere near overpowering.

Second Third

The second third of my Summerfest started off very similar to the first third with a strong woodsy flavor both on the front and the finish. Unfortunately, burning further into the second third, the cigar's finish started to taste medicinal. This could be from them being young (I have no idea how long these have been rolled, and even then, sometimes a fresh cigar can taste great), but something strange was going on. As the second third burned on, this taste seemed to fade a bit but I could still taste it in the back of my palate. Another change in the second third was that the strength of the cigar amped up. I would put this part of the stick firmly in the full strength area.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my Summerfest is where things really went downhill for me. At this point I was not picking up any really strong flavors other than a burnt tobacco taste mixed with ash. The smoke was very thick and coated my mouth, which I normally like, but it coated with an unpleasant flavor. I hoped some of those notes from the very beginning of the cigar would come back but they did not. The body was still in the full range and the draw still had zero problems.

My final thoughts on the Viaje Summerfest 2001? This was not one of the better Viaje releases in my opinion. Note to anyone smoking this cigar.. do not cut off the brushed foot because it tastes great! After that, if you have a similar taste in cigars that I have, you might be disappointed. I normally like a lot of stuff from Viaje, but this one was not for me. On a more positive note, the construction of this cigar was excellent and it burned/draw without any problems. I'd love to hear what other people think of this cigar, so please leave a comment if you have a similar experience or one completely different.

Would I buy it again? I would like to try this in the torpedo size so I could see myself buying one of those to see if it's different.

June 15, 2011

I love getting my hands on new cigars. I love it even more when it happens to come from one of my top five favorite brands on the market. Tonight's cigar is the first new full line release in 2011 from Pete Johnson's Tatuaje brand, the Tatuaje "The 7th Capa Especial". What makes this different from previously released "Tatuaje 7th" is this stick is wrapped in a Sumatra leaf. Pete and the whole My Father company (who make Tatuaje cigars) have been using a lot of Sumatra lately, so it only seemed fitting that one of the core Tatuaje sticks would eventually be made with this wrapper. The 7th Reserva was my number two cigar of the year last year, so I was very excited to smoke this rendition to see how it tasted.

Something to note: This cigar is made at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and not in Miami like most other brown label Tatuaje cigars.

The wrapper on my Tatuaje 7th Capa Especial was a rustic medium brown color with a decent amount of veins running all over the stick. The veins were smoothed down nicely, but still very apparent on the leaf. The new white band added to the stick looks classy and adds a bit of interest to the simply stated brown band that we are all accustomed to. The pre-lit aroma of the cigar was very bread-like, with some hints of sweetness. Not strong fresh baked bread, but more of a raw whole grain smell. The cold draw mimicked the pre-lit aroma and had a heavy bread flavor that sat thick on my palate.

First Third

I lit my Tatuaje 7th Capa Especial with a soft flame lighter and was greeted right away with the classic black pepper spice of a Pepin blend. The spice was so strong that it tingled the sides of my tongue and was apparent in the back of my throat. The finish of the profile was very interesting because after exhaling the smoke the pepper seemed to mellow out, but a minute later between puffs the pepper came right back. The smoke itself is very thick and coated my taste buds from the first puff. The draw was perfect and the body sat in the medium to medium full range.

Second Third

Burning into the second third of my Tatuaje 7 Capa Especial the flavor profile really changed. The finish was still dominated by the black pepper, but the front now had a very strong nutty flavor mixed in with some obvious graham cracker. I described it to my smoking partner as not a sweetened graham taste, but a raw bread-y graham. These flavors mixed nicely and added a great change up from the pepper power from the first third. The finish was still long in flavor and I could taste it well-over the sitting time I normally take between puffs. Moving toward the end of the second third, the body started to pick up also and moved into the full range. Again, no problems with the burn/draw/construction.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my Tatuaje7th Capa Especial was similar to the second third except the pepper started to pick back up again on the front of the profile and the finish now had a butter characteristic to it. It's worth mentioning again that the smoke of this cigar is very heavy and feels like you could chew it. Another thing to note in the final third was the strength of the cigar went well into the full range. By the end I could really feel it in my system and had my head spinning just slightly.

My final thoughts on the Tatuaje The 7th Capa Especial? This is a solid, complex cigar with lots of flavor and the strength to back it up. The cigar to me tasted completely different from anything else in the brown label line from Tatuaje. I hear people all the time say they shy away from Sumatra wrapped sticks. I will point out that most people say the same thing about Connecticut shade-wrapped cigars, but we have seen that leaf gain great popularity recently with the EPC New Wave cigar. Maybe the Tatuaje Capa Especial can do the same for Sumatra? I think it can.

Would I buy it again? I absolutely will buy more of this cigar because it is just that much different than other sticks in the brown label and will be a nice change up. I smoke A LOT of brown label, and I see this one being added to my rotation.

Would I buy a box? I could see myself going for a box of these to sit on because I have no idea what this wrapper will do to the blend with age. They are smoking great ROTT, but some age intrigues me.

I got my cigars from Dan (NHCDAN on twitter) at New Havana Cigars. When I left his shop he still had a small amount of these left for sale on his site. They are a full release cigar, so I am sure there will be at some time be plenty to go around. If you want some now though, I'd not waste any time.

June 13, 2011

The cigar I am reviewing today is starting to make some buzz online, thanks to some other sites posting reviews and due to Emilio Cigars having a pretty active Facebook presence. Emilio Cigars is a new(ish) boutique brand from creator Gary Griffith. The AF in the name AF1 stands for A.J. Fernandez who is the blender of this particular stick. All cigar geeks know who A.J. Fernandez is, but if you're a more casual smoker, just know that he is one of the hottest cigar blenders out there and, chances are, you have had one of his sticks without even knowing it.

A quote from the Emilio Cigars website: Now available, the Emilio AF-1 cigars are produced in Esteli, Nicaragua and named in honor of our friend A.J. Fernandez, blender and manufacturer. Two years in the making, the cigars are loaded with flavor from the Nicaraguan tobaccos of the filler, and clothed with a slow fermented maduro wrapper, dark and rich with spice and sweetness.

That is one nice sounding quote and I hoped the cigar can hold up to it. On to the review.

The Emilio AF1 (referred to as AF1 for the rest of this entry) had a visually-enticing dark wrapper with just a few light spots that look as if they could be from water. Overall it was a very smooth wrapper with minimal veins and a smoothed-out seam. The pre-lit aroma had a earthy musk tone, mixed in with some hints of leather and maybe molasses. Squeezing the cigar from head to foot, I could tell that it was evenly packed and had no soft spots. I clipped the cap easily and the cold draw was nice and free. The pre-lit flavor consisted entirely of a natural tobacco taste.

First Third

With minimal effort my AF1 lit up and started producing think clouds of smoke. Like the pre-lit promised, the draw was free and very enjoyable. The initial flavors had a little peppery spice on the front mixed with a dark chocolate finish. The flavors weren't extraordinarily strong, but they were strong enough that I could pick up the differences and changes going on. About a inch in, the cigar started to mellow and the dark chocolate flavor took over the front of the profile as well as holding down the finish. The burn was excellent and the body was right in the medium range.Second Third

The second third of my Af1 was similar to the first third with really only one change. The flavor profile was still dominated by a dark chocolate taste, but right about half way though the cigar, I started to notice just a hint of espresso on the finish. It was very very light, but it was there for me. I enjoyed this part of the cigar the most because the tastes really melted nicely and reminded me of nice after-dinner drink. I have not mentioned that ash yet in this review. The ash isn't typically that important in my reviews, but I though I would point out that this cigar has a very flaky ash. If you are not careful, you will end up with it on your lap. The body was still a consistent medium.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

I wish there was more to say in the final third to make this review more exciting that hadn't already been said, but the reality is there is not. The cigar smoked right along with the same dominate dark chocolate, mixed with a hint of espresso. The construction was spot on and the smoke volume never let up. The body never pushed into the full range and I think even a new smoker could handle this stick's power.

My final thoughts on the Emilio AF1? If you are a chocolate person, you are going to love this stick. If you're someone who is looking for lots of changes thought the smoking experience, you might want to pass. Overall I thought it was a solid smoke and an easy stick to have while talking with friends. It's not going to distract you from a conversation, but it's also not going to give you a disappointing smoke.
. Would I buy it again? Depending on the price, I would pick up some more of these to keep in my humidor.

Would I buy a box? Right now we are getting so many new cigars on the market, I don't think this would be one of the ones I would rush out to get a box right away.